As is known, the sterilization of glass containers such as bottles 17 or jars 10, etc. has always required costly and usually inefficient washing operations prior to filling.
All bottles 17 designed to be filled with various liquids, as well as other glass containers 10, also designed to be filled with other sterile products are maintained in sterile conditions from the manufacturing step to the filling step, by the application of seals 2, i.e. membranes or films made of an extensible plastic elastomer, thanks to state-of-the-art techniques, which form the subject of Swiss patent applications No. 1995 0235/95 and of the associated application PCT/EP 96/00342 and other associated international applications and 1997 01/97 CH and the associated application PCT WO 98/32 668, which membranes or films strongly adhere against the openings 3 of the containers 10 or the bottles 17, thereby maintaining the content thereof in a sterile state until filling.
In order to remove these seals 2, before filling and final closure, said seals 2 have to be extracted rapidly, cost-effectively and without leaving residues on the opening 3.
Some apparatuses have been conceived for this purpose, which essentially involve a mechanical removal effect by rotating brushes, continuously assisted by air intake on the opening to be sealed, but such apparatuses, though effective, cause operation problems at high processing rates and serious difficulties in sterile operations.